Kasprowy Wierch - Most Famous Peak of Poland

Kasprowy Wierch, lying at the altitude of 1987 metres above sea level, is situated in the centre of the Polish Tatras. It is beautifully surrounded by the Gasienicowe Tarns Valley (Dolina Stawów Gasienicowych), the Goryczkowa Valley (Dolina Goryczkowa), the Kasprowa Valley (Dolina Kasprowa), and (in Slovakia) the Silent Valley (Dolina Cicha). On top of Kasprowy Wierch there is a restaurant, a small hotel and a few stands. There is also a meteorological observatory built in 1937, which is the highest situated building in Poland.

How to reach the peak

Kasprowy Wierch has been one of the most famous peaks of the Tatra Mountains since the cable car railway (Kuznice - Kasprowy Wierch - Kuznice) reaching it was built in 1936. Nowadays, thanks to it, Kasprowy Wierch ranks first as the most frequently visited mountain summit in Poland. Every year as many as one million people reach Kasprowy Wierch. The peak is also accessible by two chairlifts from the Goryczkowa Valley (Dolina Goryczkowa) and the Għsienicowa Valley (Dolina Gasienicowa). Both are particularly popular with skiers. The former offers a two-kilometre long alpine ski run, the only one in Poland, with the best skiing parameters. The latter has a 1.4-kilometre long ski run.

The exciting cable car ride

The peak is situated in the middle of the range of the Tatra Mountains, thus, making it possible to enjoy a magnificent panorama of the Western Tatras with Swinica Peak (2301 m) and the Slovak peak of Krywan (2494 m). The views are breathtaking not only while standing on top of Kasprowy Wierch, but while ascending the peak via the cable car. The whole distance of above 4.300 metres is covered within 17 minutes. Between the bottom and the top station there is a middle one at Myslenickie Turnie, where one has to change. The altitude difference is about 900 m, whereas the biggest height above the ground is about 200 m. The gentle swinging of the cable car while passing the support poles, the view of the tree tops and steep, rocky slopes under the feet make the ride highly emotional.

As the view one may admire on top is stunning, the facts that the cable cars are nearly always fully packed with the maximum of 36 people and the queues to the ticket-office are long are not discouraging. The best idea is to come to the Kuznice cable car bottom station in the morning before the crowds of tourists get here around 9 a.m. If buying a return ticket, one should bear in mind that the return journey is planned within one hour and forty minutes after ascent. If you want to stay longer on top, it is recommended that you buy a return one upon ascending Kasprowy Wierch.

Precautions to take

Kasprowy Wierch, regarded as the most popular ski mountain top, is equally popular in summer both with tourists ascending the peak via a cable car carriage and with hikers. No matter which route is chosen, one should remember that the differences in the temperature in Kuznice (the base station of the cable car) and on top of Kasprowy is significant, thus, proper clothes should be worn. As generally known, the weather at such altitutudes is prone to constant chage , and one may encounter all four seasons during one day of hiking. The advice should be followed, especially by those tourists who would like to descend Kasprowy Wierch following one of the trails.

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